School spirit need not require everyone to dress like the athletic department.
Licensed campus spirit wear is good business. Colleges earn royalties while students and alumni become walking advertisements for the institution. The arrangement is understandable, profitable and nearly universal. Yet something may be lost when the university wardrobe collapses into hoodies, sweatshirts, athletic jerseys and logo-covered leisurewear.
Young adulthood is a brief season. Students arrive on campus at an age when health, vitality and physical beauty are often at their height. They are also meeting one another, forming friendships, attending dinners, concerts and games and, whether consciously or not, presenting themselves to possible future partners. Dress has always been part of that social language.
A university therefore has interests beyond maximizing licensed-apparel revenue. An educational settlement should leave room for elegance, individuality and occasion: dresses, jackets, sweaters, skirts, proper shoes and well-cut trousers alongside the inevitable sweatshirt.
FYI: This standard was withdrawn in January 2023; its contents migrated to other titles:
Standard Test Method for Thickness of Textile Materials
Test Methods for Visually Inspecting and Grading Fabrics
“The Dressmaking Factory” 1881 Charles Ginnar
